


Annoyance

by notjustmom



Series: August Writing Prompts 2019 [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Afghanistan, Backstory, Fluffy Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, angsty fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 15:42:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20066467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: Tony and Rhodey. I know they wouldn't have been able to have a conversation on the chopper after they picked up Tony, because of the noise, but I imagine if they did, it might go something like this...





	Annoyance

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 Prompt: Annoyance

"Don't fuss, Platypus," Tony groaned, a trace of annoyance in his voice as Rhodey wiped the sand and blood from his face, or tried to as the chopper finally lifted into the air. 

"Sorry."

Tony grabbed onto his shirt and looked up into his face. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. You found me, you always do, don't you, Rhodey?" He swore as they hit some turbulence, and he buried his face into his friend's chest, then caught his breath and whispered, "you 'member?"

"Yeah, Tones, I remember." He brushed sand encrusted hair from Tony's face, then wrapped his arm around him as tightly as he dared. "You were fifteen. I'd never seen anything like you before. You thought you knew everything, and you did, except when it came to people. You managed to piss off everyone in less than a week, everyone but me, you made me laugh. You had no filter, you'd say the first damned thing that popped into your head, didn't matter who it was, you could out talk anyone -" he swore under his breath as he felt Tony shiver against him, even in the heat of the overcrowded helicopter, and he knew it wasn't because he was cold.

"One day, you didn't show up for class. You always showed up for class. I think it was mostly because you liked letting the professors know you knew more than they did, every chance you got -" He heard his friend whimper softly and he tightened his grip on him. "I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you, Tone. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let you go on your own. I should have -"

Tony laughed roughly into his chest, then drew in a sharp breath and growled out in pain, "not your fault. When could you ever stop me -" He gripped his shirt tighter and muttered, "tell me?"

"Yeah." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "I checked your dorm room, just in case - you only went there to change your clothes, you barely slept even then, don't know how you managed to live this long, you idiot." 

Tony managed to chuckle, in spite of himself as he went on. "Then I tried the library, they hadn't seen you for a day and a half. That's when I started to worry, you spent every spare minute in there the first few months, it was where you felt safest." He ran his fingers through Tony's hair and sighed as his friend turned his head to look up at him and he saw the pain in his eyes. "I tried all the places I could think of, then I got tired of looking, and needed coffee, and there you were, sitting in the dining hall, fast asleep at a table, you had a black eye and scraped up knuckles, you looked about all of twelve. One of the cooks had taken pity on you, let you stay. She'd given you an ice pack for your eye and a cheeseburger. You never told me who the other guy was, but the next day I saw the biggest, toughest dude on campus had a split lip and was limping. He had said something to me a couple days earlier, I had ignored it, had heard worse - he never looked in my direction again." He gently wiped the tears from Tony's face and shook his head. "I never did thank you for that. No one - no one ever had my back before. There was no fucking way I was gonna leave you in the fucking desert, Tone. Love you."

Tony wrapped his good arm around Rhodey's waist and whispered back, "yeah, love you, too, Platypus," then he closed his eyes and slept until they reached the base an hour later.


End file.
